2. Typology of Deviance by Robert Merton

Robert Merton's views on deviant behavior, or strain theory, as well as his typology of deviance, has defined a longstanding paradigm in sociological research. He was, an American sociologist, practiced a functional approach to deviant behavior within society. As a functionalist, Merton believed that social institutions act to further society and ultimately keep stability within the social structure. It is this framework from which Merton tried to understand how deviance shaped society (and vice versa).

Merton also created a typology of the different options individuals have when deciding whether or not deviance from norms is an option. Often, they are shown in a chart that helps sociologists describe characteristics of the five different categories: conformists, ritualists, innovators, retreatists, rebels.

Conformists are the group which chooses to both accept the goals of society and accept the standard means by which to attain their goals. For example, in order to have a happy life by social standards, they gain a college education, work in a 9 to 5 job, and eventually complete their goal.

Ritualists. In comparison to the conformist, the ritualist will reject the goal but still go about the standard means of doing so. A ritualist may go through the motions of going to college and working 9 to 5, but will not attempt to fulfill the goal of earning excess amounts of money.

Innovators. Innovators look to fulfill the goals of society but instead of going about it through established channels, as conformists do, they will find other means to reach their goals. Examples my include business moguls such as Steve Jobs, or groups such as the Mafia. Both examples took alternate routes to reaching the socially constructed goal.

Retreatists and Rebels. Both of these groups have rejected the goals and the means to reach them. The retreatist will stop engaging in society altogether and instead might live in solidarity or in communes with likeminded individuals. By far, the best example of this is the Hippie of the early 1960s. Rebels on the other hand, also reject both aspects but instead of leaving society, they try to change it. The movement of social and political activism among college students in the 1960s is a good example of this group.

3. Merton's Paradigm of Deviant Behavior in Society

Deviants often help society change and stay fluid. It is in this way that deviant behaviors might be less of a hindrance and actually have a more progressive influence on society. Merton’s attempt to reconcile deviant behaviors with society at large is the single greatest reason why his Strain Theory has lasted as a viable paradigm to this day. Merton's theory on deviance stems from his 1938 analysis of the relationship between culture, structure and anomie. Merton defines culture as an "organized set of normative values governing behavior which is common to members of a designated society or group". Social structures are the "organized set of social relationships in which members of the society or group are variously implicated". Anomie, the state of normlessness, arises when there is "an acute disjunction between the cultural norms and goals and the socially structured capacities of members of the group to act in accord with them". In his theory, Merton links anomie with deviance and argues that the discontinuity between culture and structure have the dysfunctional consequence of leading to deviance within society [7].

The term anomie, derived from Émile Durkheim, for Merton means a discontinuity between cultural goals and the legitimate means available for reaching them. Applied to the United States he sees the American dream as an emphasis on the goal of monetary success but without the corresponding emphasis on the legitimate avenues to march toward this goal. In other words, Merton believes that all subscribe to the American Dream, but the ways in which people go about obtaining the Dream are not the same because not everyone has the same opportunities and advantages as the next person. This leads to a considerable amount of (in the Parsonian sense) deviance. This theory is commonly used in the study of criminology (specifically the strain theory)[7].

Merton's Paradigm of Deviant Behaviour
Attitude to Goals	Attitude to Means	Modes of adaptation
Accept	Accept	Conformity
Accept	Reject	Innovation
Reject	Accept	Ritualism
Reject	Reject	Retreatism
reject/accept	reject/accept	Rebellion

Conformity is the attaining of societal goals by socially accepted means, while innovation is the attaining of those goals in unaccepted ways. Innovators find and create their own way to go about obtaining what they want, and a majority of the time, these new ways are considered to be socially unaccepted and deviant. Ritualism is the acceptance of the means but the forfeit of the goals. Ritualists continue to subscribe to the means, but they have rejected the overall goal; they are not viewed as deviant. Retreatism is the rejection of both the means and the goals. Retreaters want to find a way to escape from everything and therefore reject the goals and the means and are seen as deviant. Rebellion is a combination of rejection of societal goals and means and a substitution of other goals and means. Innovation and ritualism are the pure cases of anomie as Merton defined it because in both cases there is a discontinuity between goals and means [7].